Stomach cramps in children home remedies, Stomach cramps are a very common complaint among children of various ages. As a parent, you must have gone through this at least once with your kid. Fortunately, it is usually not serious and can be managed at home. Stomach cramps in children home remedies are usually helpful to decrease the discomfort your child may experience at these times and are considered the first line of management of mild, non-urgent conditions. That is why every parent should know more about them.
Benefits of Stomach cramps in children home remedies:
Home remedies have been used for decades before modern medicine. People tried to discover by trial and error, new ways to relieve the pain and treat everyday health problems by using what's available around them.
Though nowadays modern medicine has provided rapid and more scientific treatments for our illness, but home remedies still our first choice before going to the doctor or taking medications because they have many advantages:
-Home remedies are always available. You don't need to go anywhere, just enter your kitchen and use what you have and you don't even need a prescription.
-Easy and simple. Home remedies don't require a qualified person and anyone can simply do it.
-Cheap and more affordable than most medications and doctor visits.
-Safe and doesn't have any chemical ingredients. Can be repeated as much as needed with no harm.
So stomach cramps in children home remedies allow us to safely manage one of the most commonly occurring health problems at home, and every parent is supposed to be aware of its causes and symptoms.
Let’s know the causes of Stomach cramps in children:
Stomach cramps in children are caused by many diseases most of them are non-serious and don't require going to the hospital immediately such as:
-Stomach flu
-Parasites
-Indigestion
-Constipation
-Gases
-Diarrhea
-Overeating
-Stress and anxiety
At these conditions, your child may show other mild to severe symptoms besides stomach cramps including:
-Bloating
-Difficulty passing stool
-Loss of appetite
-Nausea
-Restlessness and discomfort
-Frequent defecation
So whenever you notice one or more of these symptoms in a child saying he feels pain in his tummy, you should consider stomach cramps.
When should you start Stomach cramps in children home remedies?
Children differ in their ability to describe the pain they feel. An older child can tell you clearly that he has stomach cramps, but in younger children and toddlers you can feel they are not feeling well when they stop playing, start crying, refusing food, or look tired.
Stomach cramps in children home remedies are simple and usually enough to relieve the pain.
What are the steps?
You may think it's difficult but it's not. Stomach cramps in children home remedies are very simple and almost everyone can simply do them.
1- Lie your child down and give him time to rest.
A very active child can experience stomach cramps after running for a long time as muscle starts to be exhausted.
2- Reassurance is very important if he is anxious or stressed. And also helps the child to understand what he is going through.
3-Try to massage your child's stomach for a few minutes. That may help the intestinal movements to be regular again and stop the cramping. Because slow bowel movement is the main cause of gas and constipation.
4-Use warm pads on the belly, which can help to get rid of gases and bloating. Make sure it is not very hot for your child.
5-If your child is constipating, try to give him a small cup of warm milk or a teaspoon of olive oil. Both of them are safe and natural laxatives. Make sure that you give him enough amounts of water and vegetables. A high fiber diet and water are very important to get rid of constipation.
6- Warm herbal drinks are a safe remedy that helps with stomach cramps and have been used for decades even before medications are invented. Herbs like peppermint, camomile tea, and ginger are effective and give good results relieving stomach cramps in both children and adults.
7- If the child is defecating frequently or passing a liquified stool, give him a few sips of water or fresh juice every few minutes to avoid getting him dehydrated.
8- Stomach cramps in children home remedies can work from the first time, and succeed in relieving the pain. If your child is still not improved, repeat those steps.
When to worry and why?
Though in most cases stomach cramps in children home remedies are more than enough, there are few situations considered an emergency that requires going to the doctor as soon as possible.
-Persistent pain
If your child's stomach cramps persist for more than 24 hours, that may indicate a serious condition ( severe infection, poisoning, bowel obstruction).
-Toxicity
Before starting stomach cramps in children home remedies, you must make sure that your child didn't eat or drink any unusual substance.
Sometimes children get curious and try to take medications or drink cleaning products.
Quickly inspect for an opened bottle of medicine and check if he has gone through the cleaning products and then call the doctor.
-Fever
If your child is feverish and has stomach cramps, that means that there is an infection.
Despite being usually simple and treatable conditions, you still need to go to the hospital.
-Pain in the right side
Most people don't know that appendicitis could happen to young children too. Pain starting around the umbilicus and then to the right side is a sign of appendicitis.
-Blood in stool and urine
Blood in stool is a serious sign of a severely infected bowel, while blood in urine is a sign of urinary stones. In both cases, you need to go to the ER.
-Drowsy unconscious child
Once you see a child not able to respond, that might be a dangerous sign for toxicity or other major illness. In such cases going immediately to the hospital is the best thing to be done.
Summary
Again, most cases of stomach cramps in children are mild and can be managed at home with simple remedies, but your role as a parent is to know when to use these remedies and how. And when you must rush to the hospital.
Read more: The Best 17 Home Remedies For Weight Loss For Optimum Weight
By/ Dr. Zahraa Fawzy
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